John Szwed wrote the definitive biography of Sun Ra almost 30 years ago. As a new documentary revives interest in the visionary artist and interplanetary being, Szwed revisits his subject, considering what he means today.

A century ago, they were a marquee duo. Today, guitarist Eddie Lang and violinist Joe Venuti are known only to jazz connoisseurs — but their story, originating in an Italian enclave of South Philadelphia, deserves to be widely known.